I am not an expert at philosophy or internet debate. But I have come across some very good thoughts on the subject. This is meant to serve as the cliff note version of my system of apologetics for the faith. I rehearse these in my mind almost daily. It comforts me and gives me substance from which to draw from when my faith is questioned and my moral/spiritual compass is tested. I will list two tiers. The first tier is the most important, powerful argument for faith. The second tier represents what we would call the most common arguments for the faith.
Before I list the tiers of arguments I will describe in brief why I chose to list them in order of importance. I believe that we do not put God on trial. Think about that for a moment. The moment I place God on trial, I place myself as the authority that stands over and above judging everything else. In effect, I place myself over God and scripture as their judge. Does this sound familiar? Yes, in Genesis 3:5. The temptation was for humans to “be as gods knowing good and evil.” The serpent deceived man into questioning the validity of scripture and subsequently making themselves as the judge/authority of reality. So, it is for this reason that I list my apologetics in tiers of importance. It is supremely imperative that I humble myself under scripture as the interpreter of reality and the source that shapes my worldview. So, having said that, let’s begin.
- God first. This method is commonly called presuppositional apologetics. That’s a fancy name for this concept: God is where we start. We presuppose there is a God and that the scripture is true. Why would we do that?
- First, because we are fallen beings. Our damaged intellect, morality, and perception is limited. An accurate, holistic, view of reality is impossible from our limited vantage point. We are limited in every capacity so how can we accurately make truth claims. Especially claims dealing with origins of life, morality, and the basis of reason and logic. As fallen beings we have built in presuppositions. Every person has worldview in which they interpret events and “evidences” through. So, we cannot escape the falleness and limited human condition.
- Secondly, because God is the origin and sustainer of reality. The very laws of reason, logic, the order of nature, morality, uniformity, all come as a result of God. This may be begging the question, but I find begging the question is inescapable when dealing with axioms.
- As the scripture shows us, any truth claim is grounded in Christ. All ethics, beauty, love, order, and wisdom is in Christ. Outside of him is chaos, leaky buckets, and contradiction. Only in Him can I find forgiveness, peace, stability and a worldview that makes sense.
- The contrary view cannot, in my opinion, account for anything reasonable. Logic, origins, ethics, absolutes, etc., are not adequately addressed in the alternative worldview. Nothing does not produce something, chance does not produce order, and values and laws cannot be binding without a transcendent uncaused cause.
- The issue of morality/ethics/human rights has no foot to stand on outside the truth that man was created in God’s image and therefore has a unique and valuable quality. All ethics superimposed upon people are baseless unless founded in the Law of the Almighty. Every changing, fickle, society create laws that serve the greater good of people cannot be the basis of morality. Did not Germany create laws as well?
- The second tier is what is the most common approach to apologetics. Evidence based or classical apologetics. There is are various terms but we shall skip all that. The thrust of this method is to use the “evidence” to prove that God exists. This is a noble field. Like a tree, it has various branches. Archeology, Biblical criticism, and biology are some of the fields that use scientific methods to substantiate the case for God. There is some very good work in this approach. However, one needs to understand that “proof” in this field is not like mathematical proof. There cannot be 100% proof. They deal in realms of “likely” and “probability”. Which is fine. We, as people, operate in the realm of probability every day of our life. It’s probably that your car will start, or that you will get paid, or that you will not get hit by a car. We have very rare cases of 100% certainty in anything we do.
I realize I did not give much time to the second-tier apologetic. It seems my debates with people mostly concern second tier subjects. I realize they are important but ultimately only allow for probabilities. People can see evidences but remain unchanged. Jesus said that one must be “born again to enter the Kingdom of God” (John 3:3). Scripture tells us that our relationship to God and His work in opening our eyes effects our knowledge of Him (John 14:21). The point I make is unless one repents and believes the Gospel, they remain blind and in rebellion. Their view of reality and their interpretation of evidence will be flawed. I invite you today to believe upon Him to the saving of your soul.
I Corinthians 1:26-31
26 For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards,[c] not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. 27 But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; 28 God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, 29 so that no human being[d] might boast in the presence of God. 30 And because of him[e] you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, 31 so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”
Sowers Pouch 